Bihar Elections And Hanging Our Head In Shame

The entire election campaign in Bihar was so convoluted that it is really difficult to find any difference between the two major parties. BJP and Mahagathbandhan. When the GE 2014 brought Modi on the national scene we all expected Development and Good Governance to be the theme for all future communication to the nation. The ascendency of the educated and the youth and the middle class was a great sign of India becoming mature as a democracy and Modi was a leader of this body of electorate. But then Bihar elections completely brought us to that level of cheapness, which in my living memory I have never seen before.

Things which we felt were the exclusive domain of cheap, uncouth, loud, vulgar were being so lavishly used by all that the dream of a civilized elections came to a big zero. Pakistan; 1984 Riots; Castes; Reservations; Financial Packages; Same Government in Centre and State; Jungle Raj; Jantar Mantar; Honor of Yadav Land; Maha Dalit and Manjhis and what not. And as a toothless tiger the EC keeps sending notices, which are repeatedly flouted by leaders of no less stature than Rahul Gandhi.

One reason for this sordid campaigning is that for both the parties this happens to be do or die situation. Although it is not clear as to how every election becomes an issue of do or die. The same leaders have been there since almost eternity. Not one of them has retired, changed or lost his or her political clout despite worst of defeats in elections and worst of corruption or mis-administration charges and total non-performance. We all know that Religion, Reservation and Castes are the tools which unscrupulous politicians and parties use to the fullest to get any political mileage in the form of votes. So this gutter campaigning is an effort to reach the lowest of the denominators in the voters to convince them that the leaders speak their language.

There has been an entire generation, which is against using castes, class, region and religion to avoid having divisive politics and to promote concept of a nation. Instead of bringing in great leaders to serve the constituency and the constituents, Bihar election is a kind of showcase where the political parties display the worst one can imagine promoting everything bad in our society.

When BJP too joined the bandwagon it was really painful. Seeing the Prime Minister of the nation resorting to the ploy which is associated with cheap political scavenging is really a disappointment to all those who have entrusted him with their trust to lead the nation to be a better society.

(image courtesy: http://goo.gl/QsdaCx)

The views expressed here are those of the authors and doesn’t reflect the official
policy of Janpratinidhi.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and doesn’t reflect the official
policy of Janpratinidhi.